Dick Butkus, the Hall of Fame football player, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the issue of how National Football League should test players for human growth hormones (HGH).
According to a Committee news release, “The hearing will focus on the readiness of science to support an HGH testing regime. Members will examine both the science behind HGH testing and the health concerns HGH use poses for professional and young amateur athletes.”
The witnesses also discussed whether existing drug-testing policies of the NFL effectively deters athletes from using performance-enhancing substances. In previous hearings, players have opposed a uniform approach for positive drug test penalties, saying the rules need to be framed individually for each sport.
Dick Butkus testified with Dr. Lawrence Tybak of the National Institutes of Health, officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency along with medical academics. Butkus leads Play Clean, a group aimed at encouraging high school students to resist taking steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.